USWHC -Chapter 3 Morals Shattered All Over the Ground, Want to Pick Them Up? (Part 3)

Seeing that Old Madam Ji was about to lose her temper again, Ji Mei quickly tugged at her mother’s sleeve and shot her a look. With an awkward smile, she said, “Well, he’s going to die sooner or later anyway. It’s not wrong for Brother to bring him back first—better than letting someone else pick him up!”

Listening to their discussion, Zhu Jie nearly burst into tears. How had her life ended up so miserable? Now there was yet another group of people hoping she would die soon so she could be reborn. Wait—no! They were hoping she’d die soon so they could eat her meat! Zhu Jie couldn’t help but shiver.

“Go get some salt!” Ji Yi suddenly interrupted them.

“What do you need salt for?” Sister-in-law You asked in confusion.

Ji Mei immediately looked enlightened and said, “Right! We should rub him with salt first, so if he doesn’t die right away, he won’t start to stink. And salted meat tastes better and keeps longer!” As she spoke, she hurried off to fetch the salt.

Are you serious?! Damn it, I’m not dead yet! Zhu Jie wanted to scream, but she couldn’t even make a sound. She could only shout inside her mind, but it was completely useless.

Before long, Ji Mei returned carrying a jar of salt. When Old Madam Ji saw Ji Yi reaching out to grab it, she immediately became unhappy. “Such a big person—how much salt would it take to cure all that? Don’t you know salt is expensive these days?”

Clearly, what she was reluctant to waste was the salt, not a human life! Zhu Jie cried inwardly. This whole family had no conscience! If she waited for them to save her, the only fate awaiting her would be to be eaten.

Just as Zhu Jie was desperately trying to gather her strength to sit up and save herself, the people around her were also busy. Ji Yi pinched a small amount of salt and dropped it into a cup, then poured hot water from a kettle into it.

The weather was so cold that the water quickly cooled down a bit. Holding the cup, he moved closer. Zhu Jie felt someone touching her, and Ji Mei’s self-satisfied voice sounded beside her ear.

“Oh! Second Brother’s gotten smart today. Right—we can dissolve the salt and rub it on his body. That’ll save a lot of salt!” Ji Mei instructed while pointing. “Second Brother, no need to rub the head. If it stinks, it stinks—there’s not much meat there anyway!”

Your head stinks! Zhu Jie wanted to tear that girl’s mouth apart. She swore that if she woke up, she’d make sure to deal with this greedy little brat!

But Ji Yi clearly didn’t listen to her at all. He lifted Zhu Jie’s head and brought the cup closer.

Just as Ji Mei was about to stop him, Zhu Jie suddenly opened her eyes on the bed. Yes—she had finally woken up. Her eyes were wide with fury, as if she were ready to devour someone.

“You’re awake? Perfect—have some water,” Ji Yi said, bringing the cup right to Zhu Jie’s lips.

Zhu Jie froze and stared at him blankly. Then she realized he really—really—was gently pouring the water from the cup into her mouth. The warm, lightly salted water slid down her throat, and instantly she felt warmth spreading through her body.

“Thank you,” she said in a hoarse voice.

Unfortunately, what she heard around her was a chorus of sighs. Now that she had woken up, some people were clearly disappointed.

“H-How did he wake up?” Old Madam Ji glared at Zhu Jie angrily, as if she wanted to press her back onto the bed.

Ji Mei and Sister-in-law You also looked disappointed. Seriously? Their family had such bad luck? Instead of picking up meat, they’d ended up rescuing a living person?

Ji Mei could only whisper to comfort her mother, “It’s fine, Mom. He’ll die eventually.”

Zhu Jie really wanted to roll her eyes at them, but she didn’t have the strength yet.

Fine. I’ll remember this!

“Erhan, let me make this clear first,” Old Madam Ji said fiercely. “Our family is poor. We can’t afford to raise an extra mouth!”

But Ji Yi ignored her completely. He gently laid Zhu Jie back down and even carefully tucked the blanket around her.

“Forget it, Mom. You know Erhan—he’s a blockhead. Once he decides to do something, what you say won’t matter,” the eldest brother mocked when he saw Ji Yi like that.

Hearing him stir things up like that, Old Madam Ji became even angrier. “Hmph! Let me tell you this—our family has no extra grain. Everyone’s portion is already fixed. If you want to save him, then take it out of your own share of food!”

Ji Yi still said nothing. He simply sat quietly by the bedside, turning his head away from the rest of the family.